Ep 59 Raise Your Average with Wesley Gray, PhD, CEO, Alpha Architect

In this episode, your Raise Your Average crew,  are joined by Wesley Gray, CEO of Alpha Architect. Alpha Architect is a firm, based in the US that specializes in quantitative research. Wesley completed his MBA and PhD at the University of Chicago, Harvard of the finance world. His expertise is in quantitative research and factor investing. We talk about his experience, perspective and his firm's systematic investing strategies. It is unbelievable that Mr. Gray took a four-year break from his PhD in 1988, joined the Marines, and went to Iraq. He was also a bestselling author of several books. He made a remarkable transition from a value-investing stock picker to a quant who focused on the factors that drive the market. Our chat with Wes illuminated the subtle nuance of concentrated factor investing, the difference between behavioural and risk-based factor premiums, and the pros and cons of active management over passive and index-based strategies. Wes discusses his PhD research, the portfolio rules which structure his firm, and how it differs from larger advisor companies. He also shares his views on selecting quant models, hedge funds, value premiums, and market-cap indexing. Do you want to learn more about Wes and his views? Listen to or Watch this episode on Youtube or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.